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Thumpermonkey are an unusual band judging by debut album, CHAP WITH WINGS, FIVE ROUNDS RAPID; a schizophrenic and all over the place record.
Take opening track WHEN THIS RECORD IS PLAYED ON MARS HUMANITY WILL HAVE ASCENDED TO THE GODHEAD, a darkly subdued affair that blends gospel, trip hop and pitch black gothic atmospherics and a song that leads directly into the emo strains of TZITZIMIME, all raging guitars and Jimmy Eats World meets System Of A Down like wackiness.
NOT THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES is all about lurching off kilter time changes, colossal chugging riffs and screeching vocal screams; doing all the above with an air of dark menace and a twinkle of near insanity in its eye - guitar riffs splinter off into unusual new directions and the lead singer veers violently between raging tasmanian devil and innocent choirboy, screaming something about Argentina and lepers along the way. They may have forgotten to include a tune amidst all the chaos, but Thumpermonkey get by by managing to confuse and scare you shitless simultaneously arresting and in-your-face, NOT THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES is explosive stuff. Obviously, you'll find the odd Fantomas or System of a Down album in this bands record collections.
A LOVING MOTHER sounds like the Human League jamming with Tool in a maximum security mental asylum, twisted, dark and scary stuff whilst DOUGHBOY is a soft caress of warm guitar lines and hushed drum patters that takes its cue from the post-rock cannon of Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky. MEMORY FAT sounds as if its been constructed from the dying static of an ancient home computer, bleeps and squelches laying under the violent vocal gymnastics and lurching drum patterns, MELISSA LEAVES THE WRONG KIND OF AUDIT TRAIL, a more subdued and soft affair; delicate guitar shimmers and crooning vocals pushed to the fore. Final track, MY DEBT TO SCIENTOLOGY is a tender neo-classical piano piece that leaves a pretty if a little sinister and disturbing final impression.
CHAP WITH WINGS, FIVE ROUNDS RAPID is an unusual and darkly menacing record, an album that like it or not manages to leave a lasting impression and a sinister aftertaste. Managing to get under your skin on this record, Thumpermonkey have delivered an album well worth investigating.

2001 - The original premise for Thumpermonkey manifests itself in the mind of Michael Woodman. He releases HITCHHIKERS=ESCAPING INMATES; a selection of cheap dance beats, hair metal guitar solos and pig noises, all produced on an antique PC. The wall of silence that greets the recording is no surprise, although it still has a special place in Woodman' heart.
2002 - Thumpermonkey still nags in Woodman's mind; a subconscious reaction against the surf-pop band he is in at the time...something is tapping away at the back of his head. Woodman starts listening to Fantomas, Faraquet and Oxes, yet the pop never quite 'gets its coat' either.
2003 - The tapping in Woodman's mind ceases. He records ALPHA ROMEO, a semi-serious attempt to see how far his take on 'dirge disco' can go without an actual band. Reviews are positive, and offers for gig supports flood in, but Woodman turns them down. Without a band, it would be like Lonnie Donegan covering Extreme Noise Terror. The tapping returns...
2004 - Woodman leaves the surf-pop act, and decides to focus his efforts into recruiting musicians. First to join is Mike Hutchinson, fresh from supporting Goldie Looking Chain with his bizarre white middle-class rap act, Stonasaurus. For the first time the tapping leaves Woodman's head and enters the rehearsal room.
2005 - An internet search leads to the recruiting of Dave Crowshaw (Bareface / Gods Royal Family). Thumpermonkey are finally ready. From the seed of an idea in 2001, Thumpermonkey finally release their new album CHAP WITH WINGS, FIVE ROUNDS RAPID in spring 2006.

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